2015 Travel

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Transcript of 2015 Travel

Emma & Mer's 2015 TravelJourney of a LifetimeWhen?Departure for Istanbul: Jan 5, 2015 - Back to USA: TBD, April

Amount of time spent in each location will be determined upon arrival of said location- lengthier stays will be taken into consideration based on: safety, job availability, funds, edible food, things to do, etc.We do have a few ideas laid for which locations we will be spending more time than others - and those have been noted in the next few slides.With Who?Meredith and Emma, of course! We have already begun discussing at length the trip, and how it will look - and will get into those details in just a few. We met and became insta-besties at the Beautiful Historic Omni Shoreham Hotel approximately a year and a half ago. It has been agreed that these two adventurous individuals will not kill each other in tight quarters for extended periods of time. ...ideal for the tight quarters and extended periods of time on this particular excursion.Where?While this is just a preliminary itinerary (please see next part of the presentation), we don't anticipate it changing too dramatically.

$1100RussiaTransSiberian Railroad from Beijing to Moscow, RussiaBus from Moscow to St. PetersbourgTrain from St. Petersbourg to Helsinki, FinlandTotal transportation, lodging, food: $300?ScandinaviaFerry from Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, SwedenTrain from Stockholm to Copenhagen, DenmarkBus from Copenhagen to Oslo, NorwayTrain from Oslo to BergenBus from Bergen to Stavanger, NorwayFly from Stavanger to Reykjavik, Iceland Fly from Iceland to End Destination for Emma & MeredithTotal transportation, lodging, food: $1200

Items NeededConvertable pants, Under Armour leggingsBackpackHiking boots/stable tennis shoesKindle (Meredith)Raincoat (Emma)Camera?Travelers InsuranceInternational capabilities for cell phone and credit/debit cardVisasLocations of all US Embassies near travelsVaccinesTax Extension FormLet's ReviewSIX MONTHS$5250 for transportation, lodging, food+souvenirs=NOT BAD!!AND so many unforgettable experiences and memoriesCool Stuff!Let's be real, we're going to do a lot of AWESOME things, but here are some highlights we've looked into:Elephant trekking in Luang PrabangZip Lining in Chiang MaiRafting and yoga in BaliScuba Diving in Krabi, ThailandVolcano/Glaciers in IcelandSkydiving/Fjords Hikings in NorwayThe Great Wall, Terracotta Soldiers, Tianzi Mts, Trans Siberian RR, Mt. Everest, and on and on!Language/ CurrencyIndonesia: Balinese $1 = 12190 rupiahSingapore: Mandarin $1 = 1.27 dollarThailand: Thai $1 = 32.75 bahtCambodia: Khmer $1 = 3993.09 rielVietnam: Vietnamese $1 = 21105 dongLaos: Lao $1 = 8034 kipNepal: Nepali $1 = 100.12 rupeeChina: Chinese, Mandarin $1 = 6.06 yuanMongolia: Mongolian $1 = 1719.52 tugrikRussia: Russian $1 = 34.92 rubleFinland: Finnish $1 = .74 euroSweden: Swedish $1 = 6.53 kronaDenmark: Danish $1 = 5.84 kroneNorway: Norwegian $1 = 6.24 kroneIceland: Icelandic $1 = 109.12 kronaWHAT!?I know, parents. It's a lot to take in. Your daughter is going off into the great unknown- foreign countries - with a girl you don't know, where they don't speak the language, don't know their way around, will have minimal contact with you, and there are some bad people out there. I mean, you've seen Taken! Those are legitimate concerns, and we'd like to ease your worries. We have preemptively taken all possible questions and hesitations into consideration and we hope to answer those here. Between the two of us, we have already done quite a bit of extensive research- difficulty level of specific legs of travel, hostel ratings and info, reading numerous blogs as well as speaking to people who have actually done these journeys, and a plethora of other specifics. While spontaneity is the heart of this trip and few plans will be totally set prior to departure, we do have a general route/outline we will follow. We intend to save up for a few more months as well as plan much, much more, but this, dear parents, is our Journey of a Lifetime summary:Stats:Number of kidnappings recorded by police in that country per 100,000 population ranked (left) by amount of crime:28 Nepal .89 200634 Iceland .7 200677 Mongolia: 0.04 200679 Thailand: 0.02 200679 Finland: 0.02 2004 79 Singapore: 0.02 2006 (Gayle, Turkey was number 1... and Meredith studied abroad there)

So let's be real here- we are more likely to be hit y a freak flood, earthquake, volcano, or tuk-tuk accident than living the terrifying Taken story. We are also more likely to encounter a mal-intentioned white man at an American mall in broad daylight, or be hit by a drunk driver early evening mid-week, than meeting our untimely fate abroad. We can always be so very careful, but we can't live under a rock.We have to keep on living! :)AnyQuestions?BaliSiem ReapBurmaTianzi MtsMongoliaMoscowStockholmBergenIcelandWhy?This trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and experience so much more of the world than we have had a chance to do. The length of time we plan to travel will be extremely beneficial in allowing us to get to know better the places and people and culture we come in contact with. Seriously, when else in life can we go gallivanting off into the unknown for extended periods of time? We aren't in the middle of a serious career, we are unattached to any men-folk or kids... sounds perfect to me! St. Petersbourg